Minimum Income Guarantee

Mr. Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many retirement pensioners are receiving the minimum income guarantee in (a) Great Britain, (b) each region of Great Britain and (c) each parliamentary constituency; and what the percentage change in the number of claimants in each category has been from the previous year. [39546]

Mr. McCartney:
The information has been placed in the Library.

Poverty

Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what proportion of children were living in poverty defined as living below 50 per cent. mean income after housing costs, expressed as an average for the period (a) 1992 to 1997 and (b) 1997 to 2001; [40294]

(2) what proportion of the population was living in poverty, defined as living below 50 per cent. mean income after housing costs, expressed as an average for the period (a) 1992 to 1997 and (b) 1997 to 2001. [40296]

Malcolm Wicks:
Such information on low incomes as is available can be found in the publication Households Below Average Income 199495 to 19992000, a copy of which can be found in the Library. Data for the financial year 200001 will be published on 11 April 2002.

Employment and Social Policy Council

(Scottish Representation)

Angus Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a Scottish Executive Minister will be a member of the UK delegation to the Employment and Social Policy European Union Council of Ministers meeting on 7 March; and what information is being provided by his Department to guarantee effective pre-council scrutiny by the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament. [40321]

Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 4 March 2002]: No Scottish Executive Minister attended the Employment and Social Policy Council Meeting on 7 March 2002.

It is the responsibility of the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament to scrutinise the Scottish Executive's involvement in preparations for EU Council meetings. These arrangements are a matter for the Committee and the Scottish Executive. The Department provides information to Scottish Executive officials as part of that process.

Child Support Agency

Mr. Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will estimate the monetary value of Child Support Agency maintenance assessments for 200001 that have been (a) collected and arranged and (b) classified as outstanding debt; [33341]

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(2) how many child support assessments the CSA processed in 200001 in (a) less than 20 weeks, (b) between 20 and 52 weeks and (c) over 52 weeks; [33344]

(3) if he will estimate the (a) number and (b) value of compensation payments awarded by the CSA in 200001. [33345]

Malcolm Wicks:
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 13 March 2002:

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from me.

You ask three questions of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: one, if he will estimate the monetary value of Child support Agency maintenance assessments for year ending March 2001 that have been (a) collected and arranged and (b) classified as outstanding debt. Two, how many child support assessments the CSA processed in 2000 in (a) less than 20 weeks (b) between 20 and 52 weeks and (c) over 52 weeks. Three, if he will estimate the (a) number and (b) value of compensation payments awarded by the CSA in 200001.

Some of the information you have requested is not available in the format you have requested.

The total amount of maintenance that was collected and arranged as at March 2001 was £757.53 million, this is compared to £712.24 million for year ending March 2000 and £635.67 million for year ending March 1999. The amount of maintenance that was owed as at year ending March 2001 is £527.80 million. This amount has been accruing since the inception of the Agency in April 1993. It is not possible to show how much of this figure relates to any specific year.

Table 1 on the attached annex shows the number of Full Maintenance Assessment and Interim Maintenance Assessment Cases cleared in the year ending March 2001 and number of weeks it took to process them.

In the period ending March 2001 we have paid out £7.9 million in compensation on an estimated 12,696 cases. This figure includes over £1.1 million in Advance Payments of maintenance. These are lump sum payments of arrears paid to a parent with care when the Agency has delayed actioning a case. The arrears are however recovered from the non-resident parent over a period of time.

I hope this is helpful.

Annex 1: Table 1 Number of cases processed in year ending March 2001

Maintenance assessment

Time taken to process claims

Full

Interim

Under 20 weeks

53,287

1,139

Between 20 to 52 weeks

26,846

1,246

Over 52 weeks

20,623

1,390

Total cases processed

100,756

3,775

Source:

Strategic assurance team

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many appointments to public bodies have been made through

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her Department (a) from April 2000 to March 2001 and (b) since 31 March 2001; and how many of these were (i) men and (ii) women. [42155]

Ms Rosie Winterton:
143 new non-judicial appointments were made to the Lord Chancellor's non-departmental public bodies from April 2000 to March 2001. Of these, 86 were men and 57 were women. Since 31 March 2001, 252 new appointments have been made: 151 men and 101 women.

Golden Jubilee

Valerie Davey:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he will announce the results of the civic honours competitions held to mark Her Majesty the Queen's Golden Jubilee. [44196]

Mr. Wills:
I am pleased to announce that Her Majesty has commanded that city status should be granted to Preston, Newport, Stirling, Lisburn and Newry and that Exeter should be honoured with the grant of a Lord Mayoralty, to mark the Golden Jubilee.

Before advising Her Majesty, my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor consulted my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, and the Secretaries of State for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on the applications relevant to their Departments.

On the advice of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Lord Chancellor exceptionally recommended, and Her Majesty agreed, that two towns in Northern Ireland should be granted city status on this occasion.

I know that the unsuccessful applicants will be very disappointed not to have been honoured on such an important occasion. I can, however, assure them that the standard of all the applications was impressive and some were outstanding. The winners were particularly so and all deserve congratulations. The competitions have demonstrated a very positive attitude to Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee among towns and cities across the United Kingdom.

Electoral Roll

Sandra Gidley:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list the constituencies which have marked registers missing from the 2001 general election. [30104]

Ms Rosie Winterton:
It is the responsibility of returning officers to ensure that marked registers are despatched to the Clerk of the Crown in good order and complete.

The Guidance to Acting Returning Officers in England and Wales was revised and reissued by the Home Office prior to the general election in 2001 and, at the request of this Department, specifically sought to remind them of previous concerns about incomplete and missing registers.

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Given that context, the list is of constituencies in England and Wales where, to date, some marked registers, or part of them, are or appear to be missing is as follows: